A New Home in Port Orford

Camp Blanco RV Park

Moving Day!

Port Orford RV Village needed our space for previously made reservations. We knew we were living there on borrowed time. Cindy, the owner, could get us a site for another week and then we could stay in the group camping area and hookup to electricity and water for a few days.

But we needed a space to call home for 19 more days before we took off, on July 14th, for Jernigan Land in Denver, Colorado.

Luckily, Camp Blanco RV Park, a little over a 1/2 mile away, had room for us.

This RV Park is right off Highway 101, nestled along 20th Street and abutting Idaho Street, in the heart of Port Orford.

We pull-in, register, and follow the arrow to the right.

Our site, #24 out of 25 sites, is a shaded pull-thru.

Our front window overlooks Idaho Street, a residential neighborhood.

We have a picnic table for our ever-growing nature collection.

And a BBQ grill…

There’s a small fenced in dog area with real fire hydrants and a garbage can to deposit those picked up precious nuggets of you know what.

Across the road is a hedge with an entryway, reminiscent of a scene from Alice In Wonderland.

*Port Orford RV Village has a spotless laundry room with 4 commercial washing machines and dryers. There is a clubhouse with a kitchen for group functions and a cozy cottage with a lending library and a couch for curling up in. Outside a fire pit is surrounded by Adirondack chairs. Port Orford RV Village is dressed to the nines with nautical and travel tchotchkes decorating the sites and buildings. Most of the residents are living here full time or returning every summer. There is a morning coffee klatsch, an afternoon get-together with finger foods and a domino game of Mexican Train, and monthly potluck barbecues. Check out my post about Port Orford RV Village.

But Camp Blanco RV Park has Kent…

Ah, yes, another RV repair story begins…

First, I need to catch you up on our toilet problem. A few days after leaving Lake Elsinore, California to head north to Port Orford, we noticed our Dometic RV Toilet wasn’t getting water into the bowl for flushing. When we travel we always carry 2 jugs of water with us to manually flush the bowl so it wasn’t an immediate emergency. After arriving at Port Orford RV Village, we performed some online troubleshooting suggestions but without results. So we asked Tim for the name of an RV repair person. He gave us a card for Tony’s RV Service and Repair out of Coos Bay, Oregon, some 50 miles north. Jeff called and found out that Tony’s provides a mobile service repair to Port Orford on certain days of the month. We scheduled a service call for 2 weeks later and had the incoming water valve replaced. Problem solved!

But , little did we know that another exciting problem was awaiting our attention. As we get ready to pull away from our site in Port Orford RV Village and drive the 1/2 mile to Camp Blanco RV Park, we discover that the entry steps won’t retract! I approach the first person I see and he sends his aging father-in-law slowly limping over. He shows us where to dislodge the motor so that we can pull the stairs in manually. Jeff successfully detaches the motor, but we can’t push the stairs in all the way. Frustrated, we decide to drive the 1/2 mile to Camp Blanco RV Park anyway, with our entry steps protruding from the door. (The tow dolly was hooked to the RV and I followed Jeff in our Scion IQ, hugging the right side of the road so I could watch the protruding steps.) We made it! Jeff parked the RV and announced our arrival. I angled the Scion behind the RV to get it off Highway 101. Then I jumped out of the car and all but accosted, William, the RV Park Host. I told him that we had a problem with our steps and asked him if he knew of anyone who could help us out. (My reasoning was this… I know of 5 RV Parks in this small port town, and we have now stayed in 3 of them! There has got to be someone who can troubleshoot RV problems!)

And there is! Living on the premises of Camp Blanco RV Park is Kent Spurr, an electrician by trade, and just starting out in the RV service niche.

Within 2 hours after we move in, Kent arrives. He checks everything out and when he examines the screen door, he finds something might be missing. Suddenly, Jeff remembers finding a magnet lying on the floor after the new outer door and screen door were installed in California. That’s the missing piece to the electrical circuit! Somehow it became dislodged from its riveted position. So, Kent orders us a new replacement magnet and attaches it to the screen door. In the meantime, I take a few of his newly printed business cards to Port Orford RV Village to let them know there is someone in Port Orford who can save the day of RV woes, at least!